Not only is this ballplayer still starting Tuesday’s All-Star game, but somehow was selected for the Home Run Derby, despite being on pace for fewer than 20 big flies the entire season.

The answer is Yasiel Puig, and his level of hype has reached ridiculous proportions.

The young man is also featured in every All-Star Game promo, alongside or even in lieu of proven, consistent superstars like Miguel Cabrera, Andrew McCutchen, Mike Trout, Troy Tulowitzki and dozens whose statistics and resumes dwarf his.

I spoke at length with “Cutch” in May 2009 at an RBI Indianapolis event just before his promotion to Pittsburgh. He was a full year younger than Puig currently is, yet eons more mature and humble, perhaps since the media hadn’t placed him on an undeserved pedestal. The 2013 NL NVP may be confused as to why he’s sharing the outfield Tuesday night with a celebrated guy who hasn’t recorded any game-winning (or memorable) hits in 2014 and was a disaster during the most important Dodgers game the past quarter-century last October.

But if the past 13 months are a clue, the mainstream sports media won’t note any this. They, like All-Star game voters apparently, rely on emotion, hype and conjecture.

Watching ESPN has long been infuriating if looking for honesty or astute analysis, but when it comes to the Los Angeles right fielder, the bias unfortunately infests MLB network, Fox Sports and elsewhere too.

Ever heard of Cleveland Indians left fielder Michael Brantley? He has better numbers than the Cuban “sensation” in every area, yet barely made the All-Star Game as a reserve and is rarely mentioned by national media types.

Don’t look for any of what I wrote below to be mentioned the next 48 hours in Minneapolis. In fact, you’ll get the opposite. It sometimes seems like criticism or even critique of No. 66 is forbidden.

I simply wish sports fans wouldn’t always believe what they’re told and instead seek out other sources, where available.

A former schoolteacher and military historian, A.J. now works in public relations. As an MSF columnist since 2009, he supports anything baseball-related. Raised in San Diego, A.J. has since resided in numerous parts of America, including Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, Ohio and Washington State. After departing the coasts in 2005, he's traveled the back roads of all 50 states and prefers the Heartland. Married to Maria, A.J. is the author of three books and enjoys reading presidential biographies.